


hopeful strangers

by injeoImis



Series: stillness in woe [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: China Line is Related, China line are brothers, Diners, Donghyuck and Johnny are Brothers, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Renjun, Strangers, Strangers to Lovers, deep talks, soft renhyuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 05:48:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15790200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/injeoImis/pseuds/injeoImis
Summary: donghyuck needs a break from life. renjun just so happens to provide the break that donghyuck has been looking for.





	hopeful strangers

**Author's Note:**

> not proofread bc i'm posting this at 2 AM EST :0
> 
> prompt: the sun is rising, you’ve been driving all night and your eyes and your heart are feeling heavy so you stop at an empty diner and end up talking about the meaning of your life with the waiter
> 
> [this](https://twitter.com/_dearhyuck/status/1028128895218769922) [donghyuck](https://twitter.com/hyuckulvt/status/1005884570611437568) and [this](https://twitter.com/renjunsus/status/1009192945591947264) [renjun](https://twitter.com/MYJENO_TH/status/911597408638791680) ... yes

It wasn’t unlike Donghyuck to randomly leave his house at ungodly hours during summer vacation. Sometimes he went to the park two blocks away and sometimes he went to Jaemin’s house. Although he knew that Jaemin’s parents didn’t like seeing him in the morning if he wasn’t invited over the previous night so Donghyuck tried to stop that because he hated getting Jaemin in trouble.

 

This time, though, Donghyuck knew he would get into a shit load of trouble with Johnny but he didn’t really care at the moment. Somehow he escaped his house unscatched, snatching his guardian’s car keys from the small glass bowl they left on the kitchen table.

 

He wasn’t really sure of where he was going, only following the continuous highway signs hoping to escape the dark black hole he liked to call his mind through driving.

 

Donghyuck would be the first person to admit that he didn’t live a hard life. He had three good friends who he knew would always be by his side. His grades were a little above average. His life at home was alright as well, living with his older brother and his boyfriend Jaehyun. He also worked at the local roller rink which was good money for the minimal interests Donghyuck liked to splurge on. 

 

He was mostly worried for life after high school. Donghyuck and his friends, as well as most of the senior class at his school, had yet to take the csat. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in when… if he got into college. His friends seemed to have it all figured out. Jaemin wanted to be a veterinarian, Jeno wanted to do something with dance but he also had a backup plan to do something in the medical field. Then there was Mark who was already in college studying his ass off for astronomy and physics.

 

Donghyuck felt like he was lacking. His friends were so sure of themselves and took their future careers with pride. Johnny and Jaehyun always tried to reassure him that even though the CSAT date would be coming soon, he still had some time to figure it out but the days were passing so quickly, Donghyuck was worried that once he figured out what he truly wanted, it would be too late.

 

The roads were clear for the most part if Donghyuck ignored the fact that it was almost six am and he hadn’t slept a wink once since he left his house at a quarter to four. He could already imagine the copious amount of calls and texts he would receive from Johnny and Jaehyun once they noticed he wasn’t in the house and that their car was gone. Yet again, at the moment, Donghyuck didn’t really care (but he was aware that he’d be in a lot of trouble for just about the rest of his life).

 

After another twenty minutes of trying to drown out his own thoughts with a podcast on Greek myths on Spotify, Donghyuck finally decided to stop driving, pulling into the empty parking lot of a diner near a small neighborhood. Donghyuck mentally cursed himself for wearing a leather jacket. It was chilly outside, as it tended to get cooler at night, but the winds were too warm for something as heavy as the jacket he decided on wearing.

 

The diner was nice, giving off gregarious vibes. Donghyuck could tell from the establishment’s name that it was a family business and that it wouldn’t sell mainly Korean dishes. He didn’t mind though because at the moment, he didn’t even have enough money on him to buy food. One problem trait that Donghyuck was trying to get rid of was his impulsivity. Because this road trip was a spur-of-the-moment thing, he didn’t even think of bringing his wallet since he had his driver’s licence in his phone case all the time.

 

“Good morning, would you like a menu?” One of the workers greeted Donghyuck as he sat down at the counter. He just shrugged, “Yeah, that’d be a nice place to start.” The waiter smiled, handing him the tall laminated booklet.

 

They both enjoyed a silence for a moment as Donghyuck skimmed through the menu, not being able to read most of what was offered as they were mainly Chinese foods but he did see that there was milkshakes so he decided that that was a good enough substitute for food at almost six am.

 

“Ready to order?” The waiter asked, taking back the menu from Donghyuck. “Just a vanilla milkshake.” The other boy nodded, yelling behind him in Chinese what Donghyuck assumed was his order. Donghyuck noticed that the waiter couldn’t be any older than his own age, eighteen. “Uhm… Not to be evasive but how old are you?” Donghyuck asked, glancing at his phone which was still devoid of any important notifications.

 

The waiter smiled again, “Eighteen. How much younger do I look?” He asked back, sounding like questions about his age were something he heard a lot. “N-no, I just… was wondering.” Donghyuck muttered, leaning his head into his hand. “Do you work this shift a lot? I mean, you probably have school right?” The teen hummed, thinking of an answer. “I work here with all my brothers. There’s six of us plus our mom and dad so there’s usually like some kind of rotation. But since it’s summer I’m able to work later. We ignore the rules that children aren’t supposed to work after ten because we like to keep the diner open twenty-four seven. More business means more money, right?” Donghyuck supposed so.

 

Another five minutes passed before Donghyuck finally got his milkshake. “Since we’re asking… Why are you here at six in the morning? Surely, we’re the same age right?” Donghyuck nodded, squinting to get a look at the waiters name tag. “Well, Renjun, I just needed a break from reality I guess.” Renjun seemed to be intrigued, raising an eyebrow which Donghyuck took as a signal to continue his oncoming spiel about life.

 

“Hard life, huh? School problems? Girl problems? Family problems?” Renjun leaned on the counter, waiting for Donghyuck’s next answer. “More like the problem of not knowing what the future holds. Never girls. Not my type.” “What is your type then?” “Boys.” “Me too. Would you happen to prefer non binary boys?” Donghyuck chuckled behind the glass that currently contained his drink.  _ How bold of them _ , he thought. “I never really thought of it but… I guess not.” Donghyuck figured he could be honest with them, as they were both complete strangers to each other. Donghyuck may know Renjun’s name but Renjun still has yet to figure out Donghyuck’s. Maybe it should stay that way, he thought, sipping on his drink.

 

“What about life is getting someone like you down?” Renjun asked. Donghyuck wouldn’t mind if they talked on a loop forever. Their voice was calming and maybe it was exactly what he was looking for. “Do you know what you want to study after you take the CSAT?” Donghyuck asked, glancing up from his drink shyly. It was an anxiety inducing question. At least it felt that way to Donghyuck. He couldn’t be sure if the question was like that for Renjun. He just met them after all.

 

Renjun looked away, thinking for a moment before he responded. “I love painting and drawing, although I don’t think I’m that good at it. Having a career in it would be nice but I know that it wouldn’t be possible. Maybe an optometrist because I wear glasses,” Renjun chuckled, tapping them on the side. Donghyuck bit his lip to refrain from smiling. “You think you have it all figured out which is way more than I’ve got, honestly,” Donghyuck admitted, swirling his drink with his straw.

 

“I don’t know what I want. I see my friends choosing all these great majors and working towards what they want but I’m so indecisive. Some days I think I want to be business major. Then I change my mind a week later and decide that I could make it in the medical field. There’s so many choices but only so few can give you good money and a good future.” Donghyuck rambled. Renjun nodded, clearly listening intently.

 

“It’s okay to not know what you want. There is still time,” Renjun pointed out but Donghyuck wished he hadn’t said that. He’d heard it so many times from Johnny in the past year that he was ready to spontaneously combust every time anyone used that phrase as a reassurance. “Besides, you can always start out undecided and then figure out things from there.” Renjun suggested.

 

Donghyuck shrugged. “Not knowing also scares me, you know? I think that’s why I’m so stressed and anxious about it all. I want to know what I want. But I change my desires every day and that scares me too. Why can’t I just find one thing? Why don’t I have a thing?” “Thing?” Renjun inquired, genuinely interested.

 

“You like to do art. Jaemin loves volunteer work. Jeno is obsessed with dancing. Mark is a music minor while he does all this cool stuff for his astronomy and physics major but I don’t have anything! I mean, I listen to music a lot and I love to read tarot cards and play online games but those aren’t… They’re not real. They don’t have a lot of meaning like painting.” Donghyuck whined.

 

Renjun pulled out his phone, scrolling through it before showing Donghyuck the bright screen. “This painting? It’s of one of my favourite cartoon characters, Moomin. I have a few more from an American show, We Bare Bears and that one movie Moana. Do you get where I’m going?” They asked but Donghyuck shook his head because he honestly didn’t get it.

 

“I like art. A lot of the time I try to express what I’m feeling in my drawings and paintings but not everything has an underlying explanation for it. I painted that Moomin because I just felt like it. I didn’t wake up that morning and think ‘I’m going to paint this because it makes me happy’. Not everything you do needs to have some kind of extravagant reason. You can do things just because, you know?”

 

After that explanation, Donghyuck did suppose that now he knew. “I guess so. Maybe I’m just overthinking things too much. Johnny says that once my mind starts running, it doesn’t know how to stop.” Donghyuck muttered the last part, hoping Renjun didn’t hear it but he assumed they did because they laughed at it.

 

“Would you like another milkshake?” They asked, grabbing the empty glass. “No! I—I mean, I really shouldn’t. My brother will be ready to plant me into the ground once I get home…” Donghyuck confessed, although he made no move to leave considered he still hadn’t paid yet. “You’re going to leave now?” Renjun asked, a small bit of disappointment heard in their response. Donghyuck frowned. He could wait until the first of a thousand phone calls from Johnny. 

 

“I guess I can stay for like… another ten minutes,” He hoped, unlocking his phone to check the time. His spotify was still open from the car ride over. “You listen to Hozier?” Renjun asked, stealing a glance at Donghyuck’s phone. “I listen to a lot of stuff. I like Michael Jackson the best. You should listen to a song of his that he sang when he was in a band with his brothers when he was younger. They were called the Jackson 5 and it’s my all time favourite to sing in the shower or— Oh. Am I boring you? Sorry… sometimes I go on a really long tangent when I talk about Michael Jackson,” Donghyuck admitted, bashfully.

 

Renjun smiled. “It’s cute. You seem to really admire him.” Donghyuck nodded, “He’s the reason why I love music now.” Renjun glanced between Donghyuck;s phone and the speakers. “You mentioned that you sing,” they started. Donghyuck knew where this was going before it even started. “No.” “C’mon! Please, I know you’re an amazing singer.” “How could you possibly know that?” “Because you’re obsessed with the King of Pop. One song! It can be a Michael Jackson song!” They pushed.

 

_ Damn you Renjun for making your offer so tempting _ , Donghyuck cursed in his head. “Well… there is this one  [ song ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDg8EkcWERA) my friend wrote that we tried to record.” Renjun’s smile only seemed to get bigger at that. “Okay. You’re not allowed to make fun of me when I’m done, alright?” Renjun made a cross over his heart, “I would never.”

 

Donghyuck only sang the first few verses, not really able to remember the rest of the lyrics. Whether that was because he was nervous or because his brain genuinely forgot the song, Donghyuck would never know. Renjun clapped, “You’re more than good! You’re amazing!” Donghyuck waved his hands to dismiss their compliments, “Don’t flatter me, Renjun. You’ll only feed my ego,” He joked.

 

Renjun was about to answer when Donghyuck’s phone rang. He looked at it begrudgingly, already knowing the contact on screen was his older brother. “Hello?”

 

“ _ Lee Donghyuck? Are you out of your adolescent mind? _ ” Johnny yelled from the other end of the call. Donghyuck was tempted to answer with yes but he didn’t want to be in even more trouble. “ _ If you want me to be completely honest with you, I don’t even want my car back. But if you never came home I don’t know what the hell I would do with myself. So please, stop giving me and Jaehyun heart attacks at twenty-three and come home right now! Before I _ —” “ _ What he means to say _ ,” Jaehyun interrupted, saving Donghyuck from a fifteen minute call of Johnny cursing at him in English, “ _ is that we love you and worry about you. So you should come home before anything bad happens. _ ”

 

Donghyuck frowned. He didn’t mean to make them lose their minds over him being gone for a while. “I’m sorry. When I get home you can tell Johnny he’s allowed to lock me in my room until school starts.” “ _ Not a bad idea, Jaehyunie _ .” “ _ We’re not locking you in your room for three weeks, Haechan. But don’t think you won’t be reprimanded because of this. You stole your brother’s car at God knows when in the morning _ .” Donghyuck wasn't going to tell him that it was at half past four am.

 

“Okay… I’ll come home as soon as possible.” “ _ If you could teleport, I wish you would. I love you _ .” Donghyuck bit his lip. If he was anywhere but in front of Renjun, he’d definitely say it back. “ _ Please hurry before there’s traffic on the highways! We love you, Hyuckie _ .” When Jaehyun ended the call, Donghyuck let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

 

He almost forgot Renjun was in front of him, confused about what had just went down in front of them. “Yeah, that was my brother and his boyfriend. I really have to go now.” “Oh. Okay. Well, before you go… we should exchange numbers! You’re fun to talk to. It’s kind of a small town around here. Everyone is really the same, you know?” Donghyuck didn’t know, as he lived in a big town but he nodded to give Renjun a little satisfaction. “I’ll call you right after my brother gives me my jail sentence.” Renjun laughed at that. 

 

“You don’t have to pay by the way!” They insisted after Donghyuck tried to count his bills. “Renjun… I have to pay.” They shook their head. “Nope. It’s fine, seriously. It was just one milkshake. If anything, I’ll pay for it.” Donghyuck frowned. “Renjun, that’s not—” “No more arguing! Now go drive back home before your punishment gets way worse!” 

 

They practically pushed Donghyuck out of the store, forcing outside of the diner. “I promise I’ll call you as soon as I can.” Renjun smiled. “You better be good at keeping your promises.” “Keeping promises is my middle name.” Donghyuck joked, waving to his new friend as he pulled out of the parking lot.

 

Donghyuck sighed as he began his drive home. Even though he was about to get into a shit ton of trouble, he didn’t regret it one bit.

**Author's Note:**

> so,,, i've been sleeping really late often ((i know this is bad... school is starting soon)) and i can't help but be stressed about my future as i begin to apply to colleges and start my senior year.. so i projected my stress and worries onto donghyuck. I'm sorry son i love you i swear
> 
> these are the ships i have in progress for this series(but might not make it oops):  
> markren, chensung, nomin, markmin, and another renhyuck... which one do you want first?! (if i finish these LOL)
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/dunkyushot)  
>  [ko-fi](https://www.ko-fi.com/post/Commissions-S6S6STK1)


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